U420 chain stores selling psychotropic drugs under the guise of souvenirs were ransacked in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Lviv.
Several U420 chain stores, which sold psychotropic substances under the guise of “souvenirs,” were attacked. Reports of pogroms have already been reported in Kharkiv, Lviv, and Kyiv—photos and videos of U420 kiosks with broken windows and ransacked interiors have been published online.
We remind you that the scandalous situation surrounding U420 is known.
What does the name of the scandalous store mean?
U420 isn't just a random name. In case you didn't know, 420 is used in North America as a term meaning “time to smoke” (4:20 PM, or “four-twenty,” is the traditional time marijuana users gather for a smoke break).
Therefore, the name of the Ukrainian store (in this case, the U in front of the numbers probably stands for Ukraine) seems to directly indicate what exactly it sells.
The game of silence and the “voice of the people”
After bihus.info journalists revealed the sale of psychotropic substances officially recognized as particularly dangerous in U420 stores, some kind of response from the authorities was expected. But the authorities largely remained silent. Consequently, public calls for men to “visit” such stores and conduct appropriate “educational” campaigns began appearing online.
Social media post. Screenshot
One such appeal, for example, was published on March 24 by a well-known media figure, offering to visit three addresses in Kyiv. “They're selling drugs to kids there. The police aren't responding. Maybe they'll respond to the movement,” the message stated, listing the addresses: Antonovycha and Solomenska Streets, and Obolonskyi Avenue.
The reaction was not long in coming.
As early as March 26, the results of these “explanatory visits” became known. In Kyiv, Lviv, and Kharkiv, unknown activists vandalized U420 kiosks, smashing windows or defacing them with offensive graffiti.
Not only U420 stores were hit, but also related chains, such as Green State, which appears to be partnering with a controversial seller of psychotropic drugs.
The authorities knew everything
The most surprising aspect of the entire story of the open sale of psychotropic drugs is, of course, the lack of an adequate response from the authorities. After all, the “biguses” only highlighted what Ukrainian police and other law enforcement agencies had long known. For example, the substance ADB-4EN-PINACA, discovered during the analysis of samples submitted by journalists to a forensic lab, was only banned in February 2026.
But before this, other psychotropic substances, long banned in Ukraine, were freely sold in the chain's stores. For example, a criminal case opened in July 2025 concerns documented sales of the U420 substance MDMB-4en-PINACA, which was banned in 2021 as particularly dangerous. So why have the stores remained open all this time?
Secret owners
Another question that the public, concerned about drug sales to children, would very much like to know is who is behind the U420 network. Journalists, of course, have discovered that this trademark is registered to a certain LLC “BOGEMIUS+,” whose owner and director is 35-year-old Andrey Yushko, who previously had no particular reputation other than administrative citations for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
But it appears this isn't the real owner—after all, organizing such a large-scale and provocative business in a short time, under the noses of law enforcement, without a powerful “roof” is no easy task.
Interesting coincidences
Meanwhile, online commentators are drawing attention to some interesting coincidences in the U420 case. For example, the aforementioned “BOGEMIUS+” LLC is registered as an office in a business center at 3-7 Kyianovsky Lane in Kyiv.
By a strange coincidence, another company also linked to drugs shares the same address: Vinnytsia Center for Substitution Maintenance Therapy LLC. The company is of interest due to its complex founder, the law firm Svyatenko & Partners, which is in turn owned by Maksym Svyatenko.
The name Maksym Svyatenko may be familiar to readers due to the high-profile scandal surrounding Deputy Minister of Reintegration and Temporarily Occupied Territories Yuriy Hrymchak. As a reminder, the deputy minister was found guilty on several counts – in 2019, he and his assistant demanded a total of over $1 million for influencing Supreme Court judges, officials of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, and the Kyiv City State Administration.
And the victim in this case was precisely the lawyer Maxim Svyatenko – it was he who transferred the funds that were then appropriated by Grimchak and Co.
As for Svyatenko, it is also known that he has previously been a whistleblower in a number of bribery and graft cases – he acted as a whistleblower in cases against the chairman of the Baryshevsky Court, the deputy head of the Podolsk Court of Kyiv, and even a judge of the Supreme Court.
At one time, lawyers representing his legal opponents accused Svyatenko of being an SBU employee—his phone allegedly regularly made calls from the location of one of the Security Service's buildings. Svyatenko is also known to have put himself forward for a leadership position in the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU).
As for Maksym Svyatenko's current business, in addition to the aforementioned law firm, he is also registered as the owner of another law firm, YURZHILIE LAW OFFICE LLC. He also owns 25% of the INTERNATIONAL PROFESSIONAL STOCK EXCHANGE LLC in various cities across Ukraine.
At least one of these centers, the Ivano-Frankivsk Center for Substitution Maintenance Therapy LLC, is currently involved in a criminal investigation into charges of illegal drug trafficking, obtaining improper benefits, and even obstructing the legitimate activities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The case centers on employees allegedly filing drug addiction paperwork for healthy individuals to avoid military service.
Of course, the location of Svyatenko's company, which is involved in drug trafficking, literally “down the street” from the owners of the U420, which is also involved, could be a simple coincidence. But it's an interesting coincidence, to say the least.
Meanwhile, the situation surrounding the U420 store raids appears to still have potential for further development. Online, there are promises that if law enforcement doesn't respond soon, the owners of the properties where these stores rent space should consider purchasing insurance. We will continue to monitor the situation. Stay tuned.
